When you return I shall get you to carry a report from me to the general,
stating what I have done. I have no doubt he will warmly approve of it."
On approaching Castro they made a detour to avoid the town.
"There may be more representatives of the Junta there," Terence said, "and
we may have even more trouble with them than we had with the last. I don't
want any more bother, especially as I have much greater interest in the
money now than I had before. I have not a shadow of belief in those bands
of Portuguese peasants, but I do think that, with the aid of my two
troopers, I shall be able to lick these fellows into some sort of shape,
and to annoy Soult, if I cannot stop him. I hope they will find a good
supply of powder, besides the muskets and ammunition at Castro; we shall
want it for blowing up bridges and work of that sort."
"I wish I could go with you," Herrara said.
"I really don't see why you should not. I would take the blame on my own
shoulders. One of your troopers could carry my report to the general, and
I will say that under the circumstances I have taken upon myself to retain
you with me in order to assist me in drilling and organizing this band,
conceiving that your services with me would be very much more useful than
with your regiment. You see, you were placed under my orders, so that no
blame can fall upon you for obeying them, and at any rate you certainly
will be doing vastly better service to the country than if you were
stationed at Lisbon, with no prospect of an advance for a long time to
come.
Pages:
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324